This simple jean flower just makes my
recycled jean skirt come alive!
Using the leg portions of your jeans, trace simple 5 petal flowers and cut them out.
To make them curl and distress the edge of the flower,
launder them in the washing machine and dryer.
This is what they look like when you take them out of the dryer. Beware, for some reason these little flowers seem to disappear in my washer and dryer just like that elusive missing sock. They turn up eventually, but I suggest cutting out 2 more than you need.
The size of the flower depends on the size of the skirt you are making. In each quarter of the skirt, I wanted 3 flowers to fill that space.
Notice in the above three photos how I decorated the flowers: mini-buttons, and french knots. Also while sewing the flowers to the skirt, part of the flower floats on top of the ruffle, and most of the flower is placed on the skirt yoke. Some of the sewn lines are straight, and some of them are curved. I used "jeans thread", which is heavier top-stitching thread on most of my flowers, but the hedgehog skirt has white stitching to match the stitching on the original skirt.
This skirt has no center decoration and I did not launder the floweres...just pulled the edges of the flowers a bit so they frayed.
Hint: If you decide to use french knots, embroider the flower before sewing it on the skirt. I tried to just sew on the flowers and then add the french knots and ended up having to pull my needle through the fabric with
needle nose pliers.
Lastly, while the skirt with no flowers is cute, just compare it with the addition of just one flower. How did I make that flower? It decorated the legs of the original jeans, but this would be a great opportunity to use your embroidery machine to create some beautiful flowers. Embroider them on the fabric from the legs of the jeans, and just cut them out and sew them on the skirt.
Click HERE to back to the main blog post on sewing a Ruffled Jean Skirt.
Smiles,
Deborah
Your post is a must-read for anyone considering a ruffled skirt project. The insights on choosing the perfect yarn with comfort and drape in mind are both practical and inspiring. Ready to make a stylish statement with my knitting!
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